Schneck to leave Brattleboro Selectboard early

BRATTLEBORO -- Brattleboro Selectboard member Ken Schneck has taken a job out of state and will be resigning from the board.

Schneck, who is Dean of Students at Marlboro College, has accepted an assistant professorship at Baldwin Wallace University near Cleveland.

His final meeting with the Selectboard will be on June 18.

"It's sad. I never would have thought about leaving, but this incredible opportunity opened up," Schneck said. "My one nagging regret will be that I was not able to complete the term that the voters elected me to fill."

Under the Brattleboro Town Charter, the four remaining Selectboard members will name a new board member to fill Schneck's seat until the next election.

Schneck was elected to a three-year seat on the Selectboard in 2011.

Town Manager Barbara Sondag said past boards have handled similar situations differently, and it will be up to the remaining four members to decide how they want to fill Schneck's seat.

The board could solicit requests from interested residents, or simply name a fifth member to serve until the March 2014 election.

There are no time constraints on naming the new member.

The next Selectboard meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2.

Sondag said Schneck will have to turn his resignation into the Town Clerk to make his departure official.

Schneck said he took the job at Baldwin Wallace University to spend more time in the classroom.

While a member of the Selectboard, Schneck worked to establish criteria for liquor license renewals, was a member of the arts committee and led a drive to increase voter turnout last year.

He wanted to have the Selectboard use social media more during meetings, but was unable to convince the other board members about what he saw as the advantages.

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 279. You can follow him on Twitter @HowardReformer

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